Location: | Praha-Bubeneč, Hradcanksa metro station. (50.110053, 14.402236) |
Open: | All year daily 10:30-12:30, 14:30-16. [2007] |
Fee: |
Adults CZK 50, Children (3-18) CZK . [2007] |
Classification: | Sewage System |
Light: | Incandescent |
Dimension: | |
Guided tours: | |
Photography: | |
Accessibility: | |
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Address: | Ekotechnické museum, o. p. s., Stará kanalisacní cistírna, Papírenská 6, 16000, Praha 6, Tel/Fax: +420-233-322698, Tel: +420-233-325500. E-mail: |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
1895-1906 | Prague sewage system built. |
1901-1906 | sewage plant constructed. |
1967 | sewage plant replaced by new plant and abandoned. |
1991 | declared a cultural monument. |
1992 | Foundation of the Ecotechnical Museum established, begin of restoration and conversion into a museum. |
SEP-1996 | museum opened under the name Ekotechnické Museum. |
2006 | opened to the public. |
2010 | declaed a national cultural monument. |
2016 | awarded the "anchor point of the European Industrial Heritage Route" (ERIH). |
The Ekotechnické museum (Eco-technical Museum) is consequently located in the Stará kanalisacní cistírna or Stará čistírna odpadních vod (Old wastewater treatment plant) of Prague. The Prague sewage system was built between 1895 and 1906 by the British engineer William Heerlein Lindley (*1854-✝1917). A century ago it was the center of the Prague sewers, which were one of the most advanced sewer works in Europe at that time. The plant itself is above ground but the visit includes underground tunnels and enormous brick caverns which resemble underground cathedrals. The treatment technology consists of screens, sand traps and sedimentation reservoirs, which are hidden underground in a vast labyrinth of brick vaulted catacombs.
The original pumps in the old sewage works were powered by steam engines. Fortunately the old plant was just abandoned and not demolished, all the machinery was still in place and in rather good shape when the abandoned building was rediscovered in 1991. Today the old steam engine powered pumps are the central exhibit of the museum. Once a year at the Weekend pod parou (Steam Weekend) in September, various steam engines including this ones are put into operation.
During the 19th century the river Vltava served as an open sewer, but the increasing population of the city made this a great danger to public health. The city decided to build a modern sewer system like other european capitals had done before. Two design competitions were unsuccessful, but finally the dual-level design of englishman William Heerlein Lindley was approved. The sewage system was constructed between 1895 and 1905, in 1906 the treatment plant was completed and the system went operational. The plant was in operation until 1967, when it was replaced by new Central Wastewater Treatment Plant on Císařský Ostrov. There were numerous modernizations, and the sewage system grew continually to its size 3500 km of today.